bruylandt
barrel piano orchestrion
belgium 1930 coin operated
THIS ITEM HAS SOLD
all offers considered,
FOB Toronto Ont,
canada
Richly carved, coin-operated Bruylandt barrel piano
(also known as an orchestrion)
typical of a Flemish café in the 1930s.
*Made in Belgium, this automated instrument is designed to sound like a band, playing songs on 18 piano notes, 34 mandolin strings, and 6 xylophone bars.
*A large cylinder, pinned like a music box and rotated by a small electric motor, shifts from side to side to play popular songs of the era,
including the “Roll Out the Barrel” (1927).
*The handsome wooden cabinet, covered with beveled mirrors, became a centrepiece attraction after its restoration by long-time owner, “Honest Ed” Mirvish of Toronto, who displayed it with a framed, hand-lettered sign (included) that read:
**************************************************************************************************************
Emiel Bruylandt, Geerardsbergen, 1850
This fine barrel piano was built for use in various public houses in Europe such as hotels, saloons, etc.
The music is pinned on a wooden barrel which is 46 inches long and 16 inches in diameter. A total of 10 songs could be put on a barrel of this size, which would be changed each week featuring the popular songs of the day.
The instrument contains an 18 note piano section as well as a 34 note mandolin solo section and featuring a 6 note xylophone.
The Cabinet is very richly carved, featuring a very ornate top piece and 25 beveled glass mirrored windows.
Restored 1990
Ed’s Museum Staff
To hear this instrument play please deposit $1.00 into the coin box.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
*This orchestrion is in fact thought to have been built in the late 1930s. The 1850 date on the “Honest Ed” sign may relate to the invention of the orchestrion in Germany, 1851.
*A modern $1 coin box is installed on the side. The original brass coin slot on the front of the cabinet required 20 centimes.
*Ron Schmuck of the Great Canadian Nickelodeon Co. restored this instrument in the 1990's, repairing the barrel, installing all new piano strings, tuning pins, etc. “I know this barrel piano very well," he notes. "Mr. Mirvish purchased this along with a number of arcade machines from an antique dealer in the UK probably in the 1970s.”
The instrument’s cylinder reads:
Automatische & Elektrische pianos
Emiel Bruylandt en zonen (and sons)
Adamstraat 30, Geerardsbergen (a town in Belgium)
(also known as an orchestrion)
typical of a Flemish café in the 1930s.
*Made in Belgium, this automated instrument is designed to sound like a band, playing songs on 18 piano notes, 34 mandolin strings, and 6 xylophone bars.
*A large cylinder, pinned like a music box and rotated by a small electric motor, shifts from side to side to play popular songs of the era,
including the “Roll Out the Barrel” (1927).
*The handsome wooden cabinet, covered with beveled mirrors, became a centrepiece attraction after its restoration by long-time owner, “Honest Ed” Mirvish of Toronto, who displayed it with a framed, hand-lettered sign (included) that read:
**************************************************************************************************************
Emiel Bruylandt, Geerardsbergen, 1850
This fine barrel piano was built for use in various public houses in Europe such as hotels, saloons, etc.
The music is pinned on a wooden barrel which is 46 inches long and 16 inches in diameter. A total of 10 songs could be put on a barrel of this size, which would be changed each week featuring the popular songs of the day.
The instrument contains an 18 note piano section as well as a 34 note mandolin solo section and featuring a 6 note xylophone.
The Cabinet is very richly carved, featuring a very ornate top piece and 25 beveled glass mirrored windows.
Restored 1990
Ed’s Museum Staff
To hear this instrument play please deposit $1.00 into the coin box.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
*This orchestrion is in fact thought to have been built in the late 1930s. The 1850 date on the “Honest Ed” sign may relate to the invention of the orchestrion in Germany, 1851.
*A modern $1 coin box is installed on the side. The original brass coin slot on the front of the cabinet required 20 centimes.
*Ron Schmuck of the Great Canadian Nickelodeon Co. restored this instrument in the 1990's, repairing the barrel, installing all new piano strings, tuning pins, etc. “I know this barrel piano very well," he notes. "Mr. Mirvish purchased this along with a number of arcade machines from an antique dealer in the UK probably in the 1970s.”
The instrument’s cylinder reads:
Automatische & Elektrische pianos
Emiel Bruylandt en zonen (and sons)
Adamstraat 30, Geerardsbergen (a town in Belgium)
Emiel Bruylandt (1902-1940)
Ran the family’s furniture-making business for three years after the death of his father, Theodore, in 1937. Whether the Bruylandts built the musical workings is unknown but they made the cabinets, arranged barrels, and sold the instruments.
The instrument today needs a tune-up; the speed of the cylinder's rotation is unsteady. And the central mirror was cracked by a mover, but replaceable.
Length: 54 inches
Width: 27 inches
Height: 95 inches
Weight 600 lbs approx.
YouTube video at https://youtu.be/mPm6PS0FmKY
This item has SOLD
THIS ITEM HAS SOLD
All offers considered, FOB Toronto, Ontario, CANADA.
Location: High Park / Roncesvalles area, Toronto, Canada
Terry Collins
Toronto, +1-416-878-8712
terrycollins@gmail.com
